#merica

Happy Memorial Day everyone!
I hope I find you all well and full and happy.
This has been a very nice weekend thus far and I've faced it head on like the champ I am.
I'm on Day 22 of Whole 30 and I cannot believe how quickly it's coming to a close!
It's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it - I saw this on IG this morning and it rang with truth (<---quote from Brave, anyone?).

"Stop wishing for other people's bodies. Find peace with your own. Just eat food. Eat real food. Be active and live your life. Forget all the diet and weight loss nonsense. It's really just that. Nonsense."

^^I adore this. I just need to remember it on the daily!

So, let's rewind a tad to Friday night.

We went over to Rosalie's BFF's (Blayke's) house - her parents are awesome and were the hostesses with mostesses.

I contributed this fruit salad.

Yum yum, give me some.

Ro & Blayke gearing up to roast some 'mallows.

Aren't they legit the cutest things you've ever seen?

Saturday was spent cleaning up our back patio.

It was a hot mess express out there! 

We had company yesterday for a BBQ and it was the perfect motivation to make our home look presentable.

I made chicken/veggie kabobs, prosciutto wrapped asparagus, curry mac salad (which I didn't eat), roasted sweet potatoes, and lots of munchies. Everything turned out delish (such a chef)!

Dinner was followed by a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity.

No big deal, but I won.

My best hand:

You have never truly experienced  ______ until you have dealt with _________.

I played: You have never truly experienced clenched buttcheeks until you have dealt with the boners of the elderly.

C.A.H GOLD.

Anyway, I'm really avoiding working out, but I think my procrastination is coming to an end. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day! 

#merica

BACON GOT ME LIKE...

Poppin' in for a quickie (that's what he said) before I labor over hours of homework.
This weekend is Memorial Day (SURPRISE!) and I've already signed up for two BBQ's. Bring on the fruits, veggies, and meats! Nothing says Paleo like grilled-everything.
So while you're cheers-ing with your Pabsts, Micros, and Chards, I'll clink you with my La Croix.
Because I'm a boss like that.

I only have three photos to share folks, so gear up.

I tried super hard to get Shawn to drop everything and road trip down to LA to see the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world. It was a hard-no. 

Booooo.

My FitBit has been looking like this since I signed up for the Diet Bet.

Holla.

**Side Note: Shawn's phone tracks his steps everyday. Last week, he had 25,000 steps in ONE day. That's 13 miles. That's a half marathon.

Such an athlete.

And the above pic is of me post-workout and post-breakfast.

If you're thinking those droplets are sweat, you'd be wrong.

Because they are indeed, bacon fat. 

So.

If anyone needs me, I'll be learning math and soaking my shirt in OxiClean for the next 6 hours.

Kthxbyeeeeee.

Day 16 and a Diet Bet

Okay, let's just jump right in.
I am on Day 16 of Whole 30...WHAT?
This is flying by and the best part? It's freaking easy.
Yeah sure, you spend a little more time in the kitchen and a little more money on food, but AREN'T YOU WORTH IT?
Probably. Unless you're an asshole.

Here are some of my most recent eats, which I usually post on IG & Facebook, so if you've seen it, kindly keep scrolling and don't complain.

Pesto (basil, pine nuts, olive oil, avocado, lemon juice, garlic, S&P) with Zoodles (zucchini  noodles), and some grilled chicken.

Holy. Delish.

My mom and I made this^^

A play on Pad Thai with Sunshine Sauce, veggies, toasted almonds, & zoodles.

It was so, so good.

MY FAVE MEAL YET.

Balsamic pot roast, mashed potatoes (made with coconut milk & ghee), and a gravy made from the pot roast juices from the crock pot (thickened with coconut flour). 

Not pictured are my mound of green beans.

Guys. This was BOMB.

Whole 30 is a game changer.

I started this whole bidness because I wanted to feel better.

I discovered in the past that I have a gluten sensitivity - and recently have thought that dairy may be a factor to my gut issues, too.

Well, I think I was right. 

Because since cutting all that crap from diet, I have been a ready/steady and slow/flow type of gal (ifyaknowwhatImean) (thosearepoopreferences).

What else is up?
I got to go on a field trip with Rosalie's preschool and we had a blast!!

Ro & her bestie with a giant turtle.

FEARLESS.

Cute little flying squirrel thing (not what it's called, but close enough).

And I got shat on my a hedgehog.

NBD.

I can't believe pre-school is ending next week!

I can't believe I have a child old enough to be in pre-school!

Holy smokes.

It's also a nice little reminder that I'm nearly done with this term.

Goodbye Anatomy & Physiology.

It's been real.

Last and not least, I have some news.

I have joined Mama Laughlin's Diet Bet!

You have to lose 4% of your body weight in 4 weeks to win your money back.

I'm super excited - there is also a chance to win an Apple Watch...COME TO MOMMA!

I'm not going to change my diet at all - I feel great about Whole 30 and will continue to eat this way for the foreseeable future. 

My one downfall: We are going to California in June (the week before my final Diet Bet weigh in) and let's be honest...I'm gonna have a drink or two. 

So hopefully I can walk in the mornings with my mom and continue to eat whole, and won't have a problem come weigh in time!

I really want that $35 back :)

My official weigh in pic that I had to submit for the diet bet.

Me, this morning, on the treadmill rocking my FitBit.

That pretty sums it all up.

Feeling pretty darn good!

Happy Worst Day of the Week!

Day 9

Yo!

I'm sitting pretty at Day 9 of Whole 30...

I'm feeling good and not bored yet, so that's a good sign!

Let's rewind to last week...

First: We had a lot on our plate this weekend.

We went to a concert, out to a bar, and to a Mother's Day BBQ.

AND I DID NOT CHEAT ONCE.

Omg, I deserve some kind of GD medal, I kid you not (especially since there was mac 'n' cheese at the BBQ on Sunday).

On Friday, Rosalie and I jetted off to pre-school for a Mother's Day tea. 

That's Rosalie on the end, with her bestie Blayke by her side.

The two cutest girls there ever were.

Of course I made Ro take some selfies with me before we left for the Tea.

It was extra funnnaaaay (I don't remember why).

Saturday afternoon I hit up a local farm for some fresh produce.

Later on Shawn and I dropped RoBo-Cop at his parents to stay the night while we went out on the town.

Lol, you're probably thinking, wtf is this?

This is me doing my own make-up and being super impressed with myself.

You're welcome.

Here is a shot from the show we saw Saturday night (Joe Bonamassa).

What an AMAZING concert.

The musicianship of Bonamassa is unmatched, I was blown away!

And I'm saying this to you as the only sober person who was in attendance.

After the show, I made Shawn go home so I could change my shoes - my feeties were killing me.

We bugged Mallory & Libby for a while, and then Shawn decided it was necessary to head out to get french fries (kill me).

So we went down to the bar to see our friend Levi - I had a club soda with muddled lemon and lime sans vodka.

I'm practically a nun these days.

Like I said, Sunday was a Mother's Day BBQ over at Shawn's parents.

There was chips and dips and beans and mac 'n' cheese and potato salad and cheeseburgers and hot dogs and buns and fake mayo and fake ketchup and beer and wine and and and...I DIDN'T EAT ANY OF IT.

I came over super prepared to stick to Whole30. My meal:

A grass-fed beef patty with home made mayo in a lettuce "bun" topped with red onion, sweet potato fries (that I made), plenty of fruit, and carrots & celery (dipped in a Whole 30 compliant 'ranch' I made). And about 3 La Croix (which are my current JAM).

^^Thanks for all your mental high fives. I know, I am amazing.

Finally, on this long list of bloggy subjects is last night.

Sarah & Kyle came over for Game of Thrones and I made this for dinner:

Farm asparagus, with chicken kabobs, and mashed potatoes (made with coconut milk, ghee, and chives - HOT DIGGITY).

It was my fave Whole 30 meal yet.

Sarah, being my best friend, wanted to make sure everybody had something for dessert, so she naturally brought a Mother's Day clearance cake...

It was hilarious & although it smelled delectable, I was not tempted to indulge :)

^^This is payback for the cake, my dear :)

Muhaha, karma is a biotch.

Well, I better get back to math homework and The Legend of Sarila (Rosalie's FAVORITE movie) (kill me).

Hope you all are kicking ass and taking names...Happy Worst Day of the Week!

Day 2

Hola! I know it's been a few days, but I really am trying to keep this bad boy alive. 

People need to read what I think about livin', lovin', and laughin'. 

Amiriteorrrrrr?

Anyway, I'm gonna throw some pics up in dis bish and then we'll get to the meaty stuff at the end.

School is my life. 

Like my WHOLE life.

See?

The only people I hang out with aside from Rosalie and Shawn are the peeps in my study group.

And they don't think I'm as funny as they should.

At least it's paying off.

Disregard the 90% and check out the 100%!

Even though I don't get to hang out with anybody, I do receive awesome texts...

Shawn's aunt^^

Trying to convince me they killed off Arya a few GOT episodes ago.

I was so unhappy for 10 seconds.

At least she makes up for it with throwback pics of Shawn has a pirate.

Note his bro as Peter Pan.

Here is Shawn all grown up.

He shave an "M" into his chest.

Thank god he doesn't read my blog, he'd murder me for putting this on here.

MUAHAHAHA (no one is safe).

In other news, Marcus Mariota got drafted to the Tennessee Titans. 

I mean, yeah, he went as the 2nd pick and I was thrilled with that, but I still held out hope for...

Maybe someday....

Oh and I saw this - it was a lovely list from BuzzFeed about embracing your body after children.

I found this the most relatable:

"Loving your body only when it's 'in-shape' and to your 'photograph worthy' standards is like loving your children ONLY when they are well behaved." - @berthkeeper

^^Well said, well said.

Now onto my last topic...

The quote above was a great realization - there is so much body shaming in the world today.

But the worst offenders are often critiquing themselves. 

All of the women in my life are their own worst critic, myself included, so I am trying to take on a healthier body image.

Not just for me, but for the 3 year old who is attached to my hip.

Having a healthy body image to me, means feeling healthy.

So, I have decided to do Whole 30. 

I am on Day 2. 

I have cut all added sugar, dairy, grains, soy, preservatives, most caffeine (you can have black coffee - EW) and alcohol out of my daily diet.

So far, so good.

I am really fortunate to have a couple of friends and family members participating as well - it is always nice to go through something like this with someone else. 

They feel your pain.

Unlike with Advocare, there are no supplements - only eating WHOLE foods.

Although losing weight will probably be a result of the Whole 30, my main focus is to feel good.

I have not felt good in a long, long time.

So keep checking back in! I'll try to post what I'm eating, how I'm feeling, and who I want to kill on the reg.

Happy Worst Day of the Week!

Stapling Stomachs and Welcome Back Friday

Welllll wellll wellll.
Look who's back, back again...Michelle's back, tell a friend.
Anybody else still into Eminem? Just me and every other 27 year old white boy?
Okay then.

Yesterday morning, I woke up with a sharp pain in my lower left abdomen.
And I mean PAIN.
It lasted about 3 1/2 hours before it finally subdued.
I was able to nap and rest, but needless to say, did not hit my 10,000 steps yesterday.
Hoping today is much better!

I'm sitting here in my daughter's room, listening to "Let it Go" (for literally the 1 millionth time since Frozen shat all over parents) debating whether to do something drastic.
Like...should I go to Tijuana and get my stomach stapled?
JK JK, more like, should I try Whole 30?
...has anybody out there done it? Advice? Thoughts? Words of wisdom? Anybody willing to pay for liposuction and/or a tummy tuck?

Anyway, I think I'll do some research on it and get back to you all.
Happy Friday, folks!

Another Cry Me a River post. YOU ARE WELCOME.

What's up party animals?

Rosalie is at pre-school and I'm already tired of homework, so here is a new bloggy-blog!
Let's start with the fact that I got a FitBit...

Guys.

I'm so obsessed.

I kid you not, I trekked around my apartment complex at 11:30 last night, just to hit my 10,000 steps.

I really hope this is the motivator that kicks me into high gear.

I'm just really struggling...

My friend Rachel came down to surprise me a couple weekends ago and she kinda put things into perspective for me: I am happy! I am living a life I love...which includes meals made of butter and drinks made of fermented grapes. 

And while I'm super glad to be in such a great place in my life spiritually & mentally; I am physically letting myself go.

From a couple weeks ago when Rach came!

As I look back on past blogs - I see my mistakes.

While I love Advocare and completely enjoy their product, I know now that I lost weight way too fast.

Unfortunately, when we drop lbs. too quickly, we are more prone to gain it all back (and then some). 

Which I did -GLADLY- between weekly date nights with my hunny and hosting friends for dinner & Walking Dead. 

The calories added up and a sedentary lifestyle set in.

It doesn't help that I spend most of my time in a classroom or sitting at my desk doing homework. 

And that's why I'm hoping that this FitBit at least motivates me to get my 10,000 steps in a day. 

Now when I'm doing homework, I am more apt to get my booty up and waddle around my house. 

I know, I know...

You've read this before from me.

The whole "I'm starting over thing...", and I can't guarantee anything, but instead of claiming to start over, I just want to continue on. 

I want to be happy AND healthy. God knows that when you physically feel good, everything else just gets better.

And hot damn, that sounds awesome to me.